2000 Dodge Neon Fuel Pump/Not getting gas

JHOFFY22

MEMBER
2000 DODGE NEON

Engine Mechanical problem
2000 Dodge Neon Front Wheel Drive Automatic 125000 miles

I have a 2000 Dodge Neon with 125,000 miles. For the past 6 months or so I have been having problems starting it and would oftentimes take me 5-10 tries starting it before it would finally catch and start up. I at one point had to replace the starter relay about 2 months ago. Today, my car was being very difficult to start and once it did finally start it almost sounded as if it was straining to keep running, really making a weak puttering noise, so I would turn the key off and try again and then it would run fine.

When I went to leave again today, the thing wouldn't start up at all and just kept turning over, it really made no attempt to start whatsoever. About 2 months ago the check engine light has been on and I went to AutoZone and had it checked out and they ran diagnostics on it and the error code was for the Oxygen sensor. They told me that it might deal with the leaness or richness of the gas.
Does this sound like a problem with the fuelpump, fuel filter, electrical problem or what?

5 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

The oxygen sensor is in the exhaust pipe and is part of the emissions system. It doesn't even operate for the first few minutes until it is up to around 600 degrees. It is not involved in starting.

When the engine doesn't start, you must determine if the fuel pump is running. At the mileage you listed, it is getting to the point where worn brushes in the pump motor can cause it to not start. Normally they will continue to run once they have started. When you turn the ignition switch to "run", you should hear the hum in back from the pump running for one second, then it will stop. It should run again when the engine is rotating, (cranking or running). If you don't hear it run for that one second, smetimes banging on the bottom of the tank will jar it enough to where it will start.

If the pump always runs for that one second, but the engine still doesn't start, you must next determine if the Automatic Shutdown (ASD) relay is turning on. My guess is it is because a problem in that circuit is more likely to cause stalling after the engine is running.

Caradiodoc

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Saturday, March 20th, 2010 AT 3:38 PM

JHOFFY22

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How would I go about determining if the ASD is functioning properly?

Also, I do for sure hear the fuel pump turning on everytime I turn the ignition on for that 1 second like you described. Should I replace the fuel filter?

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Sunday, March 21st, 2010 AT 12:06 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
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Forget the fuel filter. It will not cause these symptoms. Also, except for the diesel trucks, you will never solve a running problem on a Chrysler product by replacing the filter. It actually passes the largest volume of fuel during coasting.

The easiest way to check the ASD relay operation is to measure the voltage on the small wires on the back of the alternator. Usually they are green wires. The one with the orange stripe is the feed from the relay, but the other wire will have some slightly lower voltage at the same time. You can also measure the feed voltage in the coil pack connector. The ASD relay turns on at the same time as the fuel pump relay. You should see battery voltage on the dark green / orange wire for one second when you turn the ignition switch to "run", then again during engine cranking.

Caradiodoc

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Sunday, March 21st, 2010 AT 3:31 PM

JHOFFY22

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I went ahead and switched the ASD relay with the horn relay and my car started right up! Only thing that confuses me is that the horn still works even though I put the relay from the ASD which wasn't working in its place. Any reason for this? Did I just temporarily fix it?

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Monday, March 22nd, 2010 AT 10:08 AM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
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Hmmm. What happens if you switch the relays back? If it still starts, you might want to pop the cover off the original ASD relay and look at the contacts. A speck of corrosion could have broken off the contacts when you pulled it out. There could also be some corrosion on the terminals that scratched off.

It's common to swap relays in any circuit as a quick test, but it hardly ever identifies the cause of a problem. I don't have any other answer, but I hope the problem doesn't come back.

Caradiodoc